Designing Your Life, which became an instant #1 New York Times bestseller in the fall. Co-author Dave Evans is the designer of the Apple mouse and co-founder of Electronic Arts, and the developer of
Stanford’s most popular class. Designing Your Life provides readers with a step-by-step process for figuring out “what they want, who they want to grow into, and how to create a life they love.”
Dave talks about applying the DYL principles to help new college graduates navigate career decision making by giving them a tool kit to try out (AKA prototype) different careers and offer strategies on how to land a job.
Just in time for College Graduation Season:
What do you want to do with the rest of your life?
Whether you’re 22 or 50, this is the question most of us agonize, worry, and speculate about, often leaving us stuck.
Listen to Janeane's conversation with Dave Evans
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Graduates from college have been “winning” at school for the past twenty-two years, but LIFE and WORK are a new game. College grads need to build new skillsets, and fast. Enter Dave Evans (designer of the Apple mouse and co-founder of Electronic Arts) and Bill Burnett (head of the design program at Stanford), developers of Stanford’s most popular class and the authors of the book based on it: DESIGNING YOUR LIFE: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life. Based on the
most popular class at Stanford University, DESIGNING YOUR LIFE provides readers with a step-by-step process for figuring out “what they want, who they want to grow into, and how to create a life they love.”
Many recent graduates find themselves in an “option prison” – they went to college so that they’d graduate and have lots of options, but now are in a position of having to make decisions that narrow the field. (Do I want to be a teacher? Work in finance? Code for a tech company? What if I don’t like what I pick? Maybe I’ll just go to grad school and delay the decision, keep on keeping my options open…) DESIGNING YOUR LIFE helps graduates navigate decision making by giving them a tool kit to try out (AKA prototype) different careers and offering strategies on how to choose well.
In development for over 9 years, proven with thousands of college and professional users (including many workshops at Google) and validated through two educational research studies, the DYL methodology is highly accessible and it works.
How to Land a Job
Most of us – especially recent graduates – fall prey to the same mistakes as we network and seek employment.
Some tips from DESIGNING YOUR LIFE:
The standard model of job-seeking – apply online via HR or an online job portal or platform – does not work for most applicants. 52% of employers do not even respond to half of the applicants for a job. With online applications now the norm, it’s hard to get your resume onto someone’s desk, let alone get an interview.
How to maximize your chances when applying online: DYL has concrete tips on how to understand and craft your letter/resume to fit a specific job description; how to write your resume so that it optimizes the chance it will be pulled from the pile; and how to read between the lines of job descriptions.
Most great jobs aren’t listed online (interesting startup jobs; jobs at small companies with fewer than 50 employees (and no HR department); companies with such a pool of interested workers they don’t need to post, etc). Don’t just rely on online listings. Network!
How to network – even if you don’t think you know anyone or don’t have a connection to the companies or people you want to work with. (Trust us – you can find a way in!) DYL teaches you how to maximize your own network (fellow students/graduation; former classmates; family friends; colleagues from internships, etc.) to get to opportunities you are eager to explore; how to leverage Google and LinkedIn to find contacts at organizations you’d be interested in working for; and—most critically—how to network in a way that WORKS.
Media Coverage of DYL:
Want A New Job? Why You're Doing It Wrong -- And How To Do It Right, Forbes.com
It’s not just about jobs. Colleges must help students find their passions., Washington Post
Design Your Way to a Happier Life, The Wall Street Journal
www.designingyour.life
Twitter:
@DYourLife /
@DaveEvansDYL
Video of the authors talking about the book and ideas
here
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
DAVE EVANS is an adjunct lecturer in the Product Design Program at Stanford, a management consultant, and a co-founder of Electronic Arts.
After 15 years as tech exec, Dave decided his real mission was to help others find and pursue theirs. So he went out on his own working with start-up executive teams, some large corporate clients, but also with countless young adults. They were all asking the same question. “What should I do with my life and why?” Helping people get traction on that question continues to be Dave’s real work, which he finds is most enjoyable and effectively done in the university setting.
Dave taught a course for eight years at UC Berkeley entitled How to Find Your Vocation (aka: Is Your Calling Calling?) and has been a Lecturer in the Stanford Program in Design since 2007. Dave holds a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford and a graduate diploma in Contemplative Spirituality from San Francisco Theological Seminary.
